MQA masters

As Naim does not offer MQA support, the App is not able to access any of the MQA Masters, even in non-unfolded 24/48 format, and defaults back to the 16/44.1 versions.

Connect through Roon, and the Tidal Masters are played correctly without any unfolding, so 24/48 and then when Roon adds ‘1st unfold, the Tidal Masters will be played upto 24/96.

Simon

I believe the Nova misidentified the bit rate before the recent firmware update, so although you thought you were listening to 24 bit files before, in fact as Simon says they were 16 bit all along. Anyway they should sound the same as before...

best

David

simes_pep posted:

As Naim does not offer MQA support

This surprised me when I read it a few weeks ago, as I assumed as Tidal is integrated that it would have supported better than CD quality - I think I read that previously the devices were showing the wrong bitrate/resolution and were always playing CD quality, it just displayed the higher quality figures!

And it is quite amazing how seeing 16 rather than 24 on the screen affects perception of SQ. 

This is not a dig, I upsample to DSD 512 and I’m sure I’d hear a difference if it suddenly appeared as DSD 256 ( but I wouldn’t be as sure I could detect this difference blind). 

.sjb

Thanks for the replies which have helped clarify a few issues for me

Sjb

i totally agree.when I listened previously I didn’t notice any difference between the displayed 16 and 24 bit recordings as they were being listed on the naim/tidal app.I guess I just wanted to believe there was a difference.

Now I need to decide whether to sign up to Roon and what subscription path to follow.Will it make a significant difference to my listening  experience and will it be worth the investment .

I think Roon is great, but wouldn’t recommend it purely on its current MQA handling. 

Roon is expected to have a first unfold of MQA at the next upgrade so perhaps wait until then to redeem  the code you got with your Nova. You should then be getting (at least) the MQA equivalent of 24/96. 

.sjb

Never tried Roon, but I use Audirvana Plus 3 for streaming Tidal Masters.

MQA is not hires, it is lossy with a big dollop of DRM on top. Qobuz offers real hires streaming. 

Does anyone have any details of a Nova Roon/Naim promo code that SJB mentions in a post above?

Gregg

GOlson posted:

Does anyone have any details of a Nova Roon/Naim promo code that SJB mentions in a post above?

Gregg

A code was sent out upon registering your Uniti player with Naim sometime last year when they incorporated the Roon RAAT engine in the firmware - unsure if promotion is still running but try Naim support to se if you can get a link.

Thanks AC.  Do you recall the duration period of the free trial?

Gregg

I think it was 90 days or 3 months.

I made the mistake of signing up for a year with a few weeks of the promo still to run and got billed immediately not as I expected at the end of the promo period, so if you like it wait until the end of the free trial.

Virtually as soon as I signed up however I accidentally drowned my MacBook Pro with some festive cheer - Roon were excellent and refunded me in full, and also said they'd be happy to give me another free trial when I got a replacement set up, so I had another 30 day free trial later on and I've signed up again now.

I don't always use it but it does things I like enough for me to try it for a year and see.

its a good job that streaming etc has come along with out hifi/hi audio would be dead in the water   ive tried and like the tidal presentation .  what new will come next . maybe wireless speakers driven digital amps

How does a digital amp work?

(I understand PWM / Class D operation; but they aren't actually digital, as, in the time domain, they're analogue systems.)

ok but general most call them digital because of the smps.  by the way ive listened to the cyrus 200s i think,,  driving bw speakers and they were very good ,abit nasty when driven hard

Roon has been updated to 1.5 and now does the first unfold for MQA/MQA Masters.  

Roon 1.5 has been released today and does the first MQA unfold. This generally gives you a 48 bit file at 96k. 

Plus Roon now defaults to showing the highest resolution Tidal album available which means if it’s a MQA file this is what you will see, rather than all the different resolutions.

[@mention:74215917359408209] Now’s the time for your trial!

.sjb

With a real brief listen last night, the first unfold sounds good especially when considering songs/tracks that I don't already own.  

Sloop John B

I am Chomping  at the bit to see what Roon is like with the upgrade .Unfortunately I am caught in that netherworld of deciding what to use as the Roon core .Do I place it on my IMac or invest in a NAS or by a ssd external drive to link to my Mac .Feel like I’m caught between a rock and a hard place deciding.The more I read the more confused I feel.

I was listening last night to a lot of MQA tracks in Roon and then comapred to the regular 44.1 versions. Was not impressed really. Seemed to loose its mojo. It did in some instances sound more controlled, but overall it lacked soul and felt more digital and pedestrian. 

After several days listening to MQA via Roon on my Nova I am very pleased with it. It seems a real step forward - the terms that spring to mind are authority and clarity. Certainly a very welcome free upgrade - Grateful Dead at Cornell has never sounded better 

MQA can sound lifeless, dull if it is not unfolded correctly, Audirvana does a very good job of rendering MQA master.